Weakend Review: Don't you feel better? I feel better.

After the heavy dose of depression that was the Blazers vs. Lakers on opening night, I entered the weekend searching for some salvation. Luckily the games against San Antonio and Phoenix brought a little of the warm fuzziness back. Here's some tidbits...

Portland 100, San Antonio 99 (box score):

-This team will be tough at home all season, a rabid Rip City crowd seems to help the young'ins attack with confidence. The Spurs found that out the hard way as the Blazers held on for the narrowest of victories.

-Nicolas Batum played an absolutely stellar first half. Blazers management raised some eyebrows when they decided to keep Batum on the roster after his lame summer league performance. His play proves once again that Kevin Pritchard knows more than we do.

-The Spurs put some brutal shackles on Roy last season. It was hard to watch. This game, Roy was awesome against San Antonio's defense. His success was probably due to a combination of his continued growth and a Spurs team that is a year older. I prefer more of the former.

Phoenix 107, Portland 96 (box score):

-Portland lead at the half and played competitively throughout at Phoenix. This is encouraging considering that reports of the Suns death have been greatly exaggerated.
-Rudy Fernandez was great in this game. Teams aren't really considering him in defensive schemes yet, but they will have to if he continues to play like this. It really is not fair that the Blazers continue to get awesome young talent. Sorry NBA.

Quick Thoughts, Blazers Debut

Fourth Quarter/Overall: Portland 97 - San Antonio 106 (box score)

• People who just look at the box score will think Webster had a huge game tonight, which is sort of true. What actually happened is even better, Martell just looked comfortable and confident all night, not forcing anything. Most of his shots were good ones in the flow of the offense. Great for the Blazers that he's at a place mentally to take advantage.
• We didn't see much of this Pryzbilla last season. He was doing what he does best, bothering tons of shots down the stretch and gobbling up boards. Welcome back Joel, how we've missed you.
• Luckily for Roy, he won't have to see Bruce Lee Bowen every night. Again, credit Roy for playing through a rough night. He doesn't stop doing all the things that make him a very good player, even on a night like this he's still often in the mix helping out in some way.
• "Nate-guy" Taurean Green saw zero minutes tonight. "Out of rotation" guy Sergio saw 5:39.
• Outlaw looked great early, but disappeared. Still encouraging, but these disappearances are what have limited Outlaw in the past. When he's on and attacking though, it was hard to even see that Matt Bonner was in his general area.
• Blazers come decently close to the comeback. They don't know any better than to keep trying, which is something to love. I predict an ESPN recap will soon employ the adjective "plucky" to describe them.

Third Quarter: Portland 77 - San Antonio 81

• Roy, hounded by Bowen, continues to struggle with his shot. But we get to see what separates him from a lot of other young players. Roy is not forcing anything, and continues to do little things right and facilitate for his teammates.
• Mt. Pryzbilla erupted. He's back to his old rebounding and shot blocking self. He's even sinking freethrows. This is a great sign.
• Webster continues to look comfortable and confident.
• LaMarcus, LaMarcus, LaMarcus. I'm telling you. LaMarcus.

Second Quarter: Portland 49 - San Antonio 59

• Bowen is winning the matchup with Roy in a landslide. Neither one of them are having much of an impact on offense, of course Bowen doesn't need to.
• Get used to this, LaMarcus Aldridge: Consistent Offensive Threat.
• We have yet to see Ime Udoka.
• Jack isn't having a very good night, but when he's in the game its hard not to notice that the offense works better. By "works better," I mean the ball ends up with LaMarcus more often.

First Quarter: Portland 26 - San Antonio 29

• Blazers look fine on offense, but are shooting mostly jumpers. Then again, they're playing the Spurs. Everyone shoots jumpers against the Spurs.
• The Blazers most talented and inconsistent members: Webster, Outlaw, and Sergio, did a lot of good things. Particularly Outlaw, who Matt Bonner is allegedly guarding. We all know these three can be tantalizing, but consistency is the issue. We'll see how it goes.
• The interior Blazers D really softens up when Pryzbilla and Aldridge are out. This might be expected, but the difference is pretty startling. Will the Blazers be able to fill this need? Or will one of the two always have to be in the game?